AFL 2011 Power Rankings – Round 10 – Dog day leads to Drop

Bulldogs had a bad day against the Hawks. This saw them drop this week but how far? Answer is below.

.

Geelong

1

<NO CHANGE>

.

Still the only undefeated side in the competition, at 9-0, so their #1 spot in the Rankings is retained. There was no real agro towards Gary Ablett in his first clash against his old club, perhaps it's a sign of the times – or a sign of modern day football in general – where there are no real enemies anymore. After a rocky first half the Cats dominated the Suns, led by Steve Johnson with 7 goals.

.

Stat line: Showed they are slow starters on the weekend against the Suns. Give up most points to opposition in Q1 than any side.

.

.

Collingwood

2

<NO CHANGE>

.

A workmanlike performance against the up and comers from the West, the Eagles. The Pies won each quarter to run out comfortable 42-point winners. A Grand Final rematch with St Kilda looms in round 11. Dale Thomas is playing terrific football, and was recently labeled the AFL's best player by Saints coach Ross Lyon. Ever heard of Chris Judd, Ross?

.

Stat line: The Pies allow most of their points to opposition clubs in third terms.

.

.

Hawthorn

3

<NO CHANGE>

.

The fleet-footed Hawks are climbing the AFL ladder by stealth. They've won the most quarters of any side over the past 3 rounds, and have won the second most quarters of any club over the season. The Hawks also lead the AFL in disposals and have the greatest disposal differential of any side going around restricting the Dogs to under 300 disposals on the weekend). Get on the Hawks!

.

Stat line: With a reasonable schedule still to come, a Top 4 spot for the Hawks looks certain.

.

.

Carlton

4

<NO CHANGE>

.

A gritty showing against the Dees on Friday night, but certainly nothing to get too excited about. For Carlton, Judd and Murphy were brilliant in an otherwise ordinary spectacle – with the Blues just happy to secure the 4 points and look to round 11.

.

Stat line: Have made the equal fewest team changes of any side in 2011 (only 14 in total).

.

.

Essendon

5

<NO CHANGE>

BYE

.

.

West Coast

6

UP 3

.

Their encounter with the Pies promised plenty, but amounted to little in the end. The Eagles weren't disgraced – but never seemed a legitimate chance of pulling off the upset. There remains plenty to like about this club, including a favourable upcoming 3-game schedule (Suns, Crows and Power). Win all 3 games and the Eagles would have gone a long way to consolidating a finals position.

.

Stat line: Yet to lose to a (current) Bottom 9 side – a great sign for the club!

.

td class=’s16′>

.

Sydney

7

UP 1

.

The Swans got over the line in a dog fight with the Kangaroos at Etihad Stadium, securing a place in the Top 8 for the time being. They are by no means the most potent club offensively, but much like the Paul Roos led teams in the previous years, they still have the ability to grind out the hard fought win, as they did on Saturday.

.

Stat line: Only the Crows, Power and Suns average fewer points per contest.

.

.

Fremantle

8

DOWN 1

.

The focus this week will be whether the Dockers can win games of football without their man-mountain, Aaron Sandilands. History tells us that without him, they struggle – so Fremantle will need to correct this in a hurry with Sandilands due to miss a month of footy. They were certainly no match for the Saints on Saturday.

.

Stat line: Kicking poorly at goal so far in 2011, with the second worst Goal to Behind ratio in the AFL.

.

.

Richmond

9

UP 1

.

A terribly disappointing result for Richmond, having effectively "sold" their home game fixture in exchange for cash and a match in Darwin. If it pays off with a victory, then good luck to them, but in this case they went down without too much of a fight against one of 2011's worst clubs. Could this loss cost the Tigers a finals position? I guess time will tell.

.

Stat line: Terribly poor in opening quarters this year, losing first terms by an average of 15 points in their 10 games.

.

.

St Kilda

10

UP 4

.

Good luck to the Saints for their surprising, upset victory against the Dockers on Saturday. However, clearly the troubles the club has faced this year has not had any effect on the bland, boring football they have dished up in recent seasons. Sure, it's brought them some good results – but it does not make for good viewing as a footy watcher. May be back in business.

.

Stat line: The Saints are kicking most of their score in first terms so far in 2011 (31.6% of total score in Q1).

.

.

North Melbourne

11

<NO CHANGE>

.

After a gut wrenching loss last round to the previously winless Lions, the Roos came agonisingly close to a win on Saturday against the Swans. In the dying moments, the club could remarkably not get the ball over the score line to at least guarantee themselves a draw. But Sydney's defense held firm, inflicting on North another heart breaking defeat. Their season appears gone.

.

Stat line: Have the second most difficult schedule remaining of any team.

.

.

Bulldogs

12

DOWN 6

.

Not surprisingly – the knives are out this week for the coach, Rodney Eade, not to mention the older blokes including Barry Hall, Rob Murphy, Lindsay Gilbee and Daniel Giansiracusa. Put simply, do they persist with their current list or go for the dreaded re-build? I don't believe the playing list as it stands is one capable of winning a premiership – so my vote is for a good old fashioned re-build.

.

Stat line: When they get the ball consistently, they go okay. But only managed 299 disposals against the Hawks.

.

.

Adelaide

13

DOWN 1

.

It seems like my decision to drop the Crows down the Power Rankings last week was the right one. After another drop this week (after a woeful showing against the Lions at AAMI Stadium), pretty soon I'll be comparing Adelaide to a "Wizard of Oz" character much like I did with the 'Tim Men' from Port Adelaide. So what will it be Adelaide? The Scarecrow? The Lion? Dorothy? They have an ordinary schedule to come, so something tells me the season is shot for Neil Craig's men.

.

Stat line: Not helped by winning only 1 of their 3 games versus the (current) Bottom 4 sides.

.

.

Melbourne

14

DOWN 1

.

The Demons dished up another ordinary effort on Friday night, albeit against a higher ranked opponent this time, but it is almost to a point where the opposition simply doesn't matter. Injury has ravaged the Demons in 2011, so you feel the story to be told throughout the remainder of the season is simply whether Dean Bailey can hold onto his job. As it stands, I wouldn't be betting on it. They must bounce back this week, especially after the "bruise-free footy" remarks by the Blues.

.

Stat line: Fielded the second youngest team in terms of age and games played on the weekend (round 10).

.

.

Brisbane

15

UP 1

.

The rejuvenated Lions seem to play a couple of feet taller with Jonathon Brown in the line-up. Since his return to the field, they've won both matches against higher rated opponents (Kangaroos & Crows). I happen to be a Michael Voss apologist, so it's pleasing to see his side win a couple of games to ease the pressure that's been mounting.

.

Stat line: Have statistically the second worst fixture remaining of any side, including 6 trips away from the Gabba.

.

.

Gold Coast

16

DOWN 1

.

The Gold Coast played arguably their best half of footy for 2011 on Saturday night against the undefeated Cats – jumping them early to hold a lead at half time. It was a different story after the main break (kicking only the 1 goal and allowing 13 to their opposition), but Gary Ablett and the Suns will learn a lot from the result. Another massive test awaits next week against the Eagles in Perth.

.

Stat line: Played the "bigger bodies" against the Cats, but were still the lightest team of 22 to take the field in round 10.

.

.

Port Adelaide

17

<NO CHANGE>

.

The Tin Men of Port Adelaide pulled off a surprise victory in Darwin on Saturday night against the Tigers, but for now, I still don't feel there's a lot to get excited about down at Port There are (finally) some kids coming through, with Ben Jacobs and Jasper Pittard two youngsters showing good signs, but now I'm looking for some consistency from the Power – with their match against the Blues in Adelaide next round will be a major test of their resolve.

.

Stat line: Have made the 2nd most changes of any club so far in 2011, trying to find the right mix going forward.